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Homestuck (Rerelease) #2
Homestuck: Book 2: Act 3 & Intermission
A full-color, hardcover collector’s edition of the landmark webcomic.
Years in the past, but not many, a webcomic launched that would captivate legions of devoted fans around the world and take them on a mind-bending, genre-defying epic journey that would forever change the way they look at stairs. And buckets. And possibly horses. Now this sprawling saga has been immortalized on dead trees with notes from author Andrew Hussie explaining what the hell he was thinking as he brought this monster to life. A must-have for Homestuck fans who want to re-experience the saga or for new readers looking for a gateway to enter this rich universe.
A silly girl naps by her flowers. It is quite likely that she is about to—or already has, or will forget and then remember to—engage in a variety of silly antics involving pumpkins, rifles, narcolepsy, precognitive prognostication, dream selves, haunting bass solos, and an ageless, near-omnipotent pet dog.
Years in the past, but not many, a webcomic launched that would captivate legions of devoted fans around the world and take them on a mind-bending, genre-defying epic journey that would forever change the way they look at stairs. And buckets. And possibly horses. Now this sprawling saga has been immortalized on dead trees with notes from author Andrew Hussie explaining what the hell he was thinking as he brought this monster to life. A must-have for Homestuck fans who want to re-experience the saga or for new readers looking for a gateway to enter this rich universe.
A silly girl naps by her flowers. It is quite likely that she is about to—or already has, or will forget and then remember to—engage in a variety of silly antics involving pumpkins, rifles, narcolepsy, precognitive prognostication, dream selves, haunting bass solos, and an ageless, near-omnipotent pet dog.
360 pages, Hardcover
First published July 10, 2018
4 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Hussie
94 books431 followersAndrew Hussie is the creator of MS Paint Adventures, a collection of webcomics that includes Homestuck, as well as of several other webcomics, books, and videos.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 3, 2019
More Homestuck-y goodness! I'm at a loss as to where to start in describing this …
For starters, Homestuck originally appeared online. It could even be argued that the optimal way to experience it is electronically. Part narrative, part comic strip, part animation, part video game, part art project … there are many layers in play. Andrew Hussie has created an entirely separate world with its own logic and physics. While the book may not contain the animations and interactive elements of the online version, it does feature extensive commentary from Hussie in which he points out all the insane layers of detail that make up the story.
I think I was about two thirds of the way through this book when a thought occurred to me: in some ways, this is akin to Marcel Duchamp’s The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even (often referred to simply as The Large Glass.) For those who never took Art 101: The Large Glass is arguably Duchamp’s greatest work, painted on a large sheet of glass, featuring abstract but vaguely human like figures. It's one of those paintings where, the more you learn about it, the more fascinating it gets. Duchamp went so far as to create his own tools for the work--dropping meter long pieces of thread from a height of one meter, gluing the thread down exactly as it fell, and then creating a wooden “ruler” that followed the thread’s contours, all so he could draw a one meter line that would be uniquely his own. In other words, he created an entirely separate world with its own logic and physics …
Obviously, comparisons between Duchamp and Hussie only go so far, but the similarities in the scope of their respective achievements are striking. I don't claim to understand Homestuck entirely--such a thing may not even be possible--but I continue to find it a pleasingly enigmatic experience. Recommended!
For starters, Homestuck originally appeared online. It could even be argued that the optimal way to experience it is electronically. Part narrative, part comic strip, part animation, part video game, part art project … there are many layers in play. Andrew Hussie has created an entirely separate world with its own logic and physics. While the book may not contain the animations and interactive elements of the online version, it does feature extensive commentary from Hussie in which he points out all the insane layers of detail that make up the story.
I think I was about two thirds of the way through this book when a thought occurred to me: in some ways, this is akin to Marcel Duchamp’s The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even (often referred to simply as The Large Glass.) For those who never took Art 101: The Large Glass is arguably Duchamp’s greatest work, painted on a large sheet of glass, featuring abstract but vaguely human like figures. It's one of those paintings where, the more you learn about it, the more fascinating it gets. Duchamp went so far as to create his own tools for the work--dropping meter long pieces of thread from a height of one meter, gluing the thread down exactly as it fell, and then creating a wooden “ruler” that followed the thread’s contours, all so he could draw a one meter line that would be uniquely his own. In other words, he created an entirely separate world with its own logic and physics …
Obviously, comparisons between Duchamp and Hussie only go so far, but the similarities in the scope of their respective achievements are striking. I don't claim to understand Homestuck entirely--such a thing may not even be possible--but I continue to find it a pleasingly enigmatic experience. Recommended!
September 28, 2020
I didn't reread Book 1 before tackling Book 2 because I, utterly foolishly, thought that the opening acts of Homestuck were straightforward enough that surely I would remember what was happening.
I was quickly reminded of how small and utterly insignificant my brain is compared to the vastness of Homestuck as an entity.
Thankfully I also quickly remembered that my joy in Homestuck was never about understanding more than 20% of the plot at any given time, so I proceeded apace. It still felt familiar to me, even if the details had all been forgotten half a decade ago, and I really enjoyed this nostalgic jump back into this story.
Hussie's notes were genuinely really helpful in piecing together the plot, past present and future, and I'm quite sure he's revealed a lot to me in his footnotes so far that I had never put together myself or read about through Tumblr. I find his notes funny, engaging, and entirely worth the purchase of these books, even when I think the quirks of the webcomic are unsurprisingly noticeably lost in this print format. His footnotes also convince me that Hussie is utterly nuts because I cannot even come close to the brain space and power required to comprehend Homestuck, never mind write it to such an insane level of detail.
Incredible read. I do think that unfortunately reading Homestuck now after the fact will always pale in comparison to its heyday, but even though Hussie didn't write a timeless classic, I think he can content himself knowing that he changed the lives of an incredible number of people.
I was quickly reminded of how small and utterly insignificant my brain is compared to the vastness of Homestuck as an entity.
Thankfully I also quickly remembered that my joy in Homestuck was never about understanding more than 20% of the plot at any given time, so I proceeded apace. It still felt familiar to me, even if the details had all been forgotten half a decade ago, and I really enjoyed this nostalgic jump back into this story.
Hussie's notes were genuinely really helpful in piecing together the plot, past present and future, and I'm quite sure he's revealed a lot to me in his footnotes so far that I had never put together myself or read about through Tumblr. I find his notes funny, engaging, and entirely worth the purchase of these books, even when I think the quirks of the webcomic are unsurprisingly noticeably lost in this print format. His footnotes also convince me that Hussie is utterly nuts because I cannot even come close to the brain space and power required to comprehend Homestuck, never mind write it to such an insane level of detail.
Incredible read. I do think that unfortunately reading Homestuck now after the fact will always pale in comparison to its heyday, but even though Hussie didn't write a timeless classic, I think he can content himself knowing that he changed the lives of an incredible number of people.
Read
January 29, 2022jade’s introduction is fun and a lot of whacky lore is being established. dave getting his ass kicked for an hour and a half made him a little more bearable. the intermission dragged though could not care less about all these callbacks to hussie’s other work would have skipped it entirely if i didn’t think it would be important later.
December 22, 2018
Hussie, inocente él, había comenzado esta historia pensando que en un año la iba a terminar. Con el entusiasmo creciente del fandom, y los elementos que iban apareciendo, aquí fue cuando comprendió que esto daba para largo. Siete años, para ser precisa. Y en este tomo es donde empiezan a aparecer más elementos de los multiversos y especies de Homestuck.
El libro empieza por enfocarse en Jade, la cuarta y última protagonista de esta línea temporal (je), mostrándonos, como en el resto del grupo, su entorno, su hábitat y algunos elementos de su forma de ser. Es la última en entrar al juego, y la que más vida "extra normal" tiene hasta el momento, incluyendo un robot de sueños, un arsenal de armas de fuego, un templo misterioso y cosas por el estilo.
Empezamos a descubrir más sobre otros mundos: desde los planetas de cada especie (humanos, trolls, etc.) hasta los otros, esos en donde viven la banda de vagabundos, o la Midnight Crew (un grupo de mafiosos basados en las cartas de póker y las pelotas de billar). El universo se expande a varios multiversos, aunque aquí sólo se empieza a ver las primeras puntas de la gigantesca madeja. Hay más animaciones acompañadas de música (con notas al pie del autor), y la sensación, cada vez más presente, que aquí hay mucho más que un simple juego, ya es irrefutable.
De paso, conocemos más sobre los guardianes (el padre de John, el hermano de Dave, el abuelo de Jade y la madre de Rose), que tampoco son tan comunes y mundanos como se nos pudo hacer creer. Y aún falta el libro siguiente, donde se nos presenta a una de las especies centrales de Homestuck: los trolls.
El libro empieza por enfocarse en Jade, la cuarta y última protagonista de esta línea temporal (je), mostrándonos, como en el resto del grupo, su entorno, su hábitat y algunos elementos de su forma de ser. Es la última en entrar al juego, y la que más vida "extra normal" tiene hasta el momento, incluyendo un robot de sueños, un arsenal de armas de fuego, un templo misterioso y cosas por el estilo.
Empezamos a descubrir más sobre otros mundos: desde los planetas de cada especie (humanos, trolls, etc.) hasta los otros, esos en donde viven la banda de vagabundos, o la Midnight Crew (un grupo de mafiosos basados en las cartas de póker y las pelotas de billar). El universo se expande a varios multiversos, aunque aquí sólo se empieza a ver las primeras puntas de la gigantesca madeja. Hay más animaciones acompañadas de música (con notas al pie del autor), y la sensación, cada vez más presente, que aquí hay mucho más que un simple juego, ya es irrefutable.
De paso, conocemos más sobre los guardianes (el padre de John, el hermano de Dave, el abuelo de Jade y la madre de Rose), que tampoco son tan comunes y mundanos como se nos pudo hacer creer. Y aún falta el libro siguiente, donde se nos presenta a una de las especies centrales de Homestuck: los trolls.
February 20, 2019
More gags, the introduction of the beloved Mayor and his Can Town, and plenty of insight into Jade and Spades Slick. The time-travel shenanigans of the Intermission are excessively complicated and gloriously stupid, which makes them a great primer for some of the stuff Homestuck gets up to later. Like the first book, the commentary is fantastic but you'll want to watch the animations on the web to get the full experience. This thing is so good, I devoured it in one sitting.
September 27, 2018
I still don't know how to summarize my feelings on this. Like it's somewhat good, but also pretty self-indulgent? I'm still interested in continuing so something has to be working for it.
November 4, 2018
So happy to finally have Hussie's commentary for the Midnight Crew Intermission, it's one of my favorites!
January 15, 2019
es good my dudes
February 3, 2020
Overall this book was good, I liked the WV segments and Andrew's commentary is nice.
Read
March 9, 2022homesTUUUUUCK
i love jade
i love pm
is good
i love jade
i love pm
is good
May 19, 2022
Act 3 is amazing.
While I respect what it's trying to do, Intermission is my least favourite part so far. (But still, don't skip it)
While I respect what it's trying to do, Intermission is my least favourite part so far. (But still, don't skip it)
February 4, 2025
Jade Harley I love everything about you, you silly silly girl
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews